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All free summaries — page 638
47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 638 of 988.
The Famous Missions of California
William Henry Hudson
An account of courage, hardship, and ambition, tracing the eighteenth-century Franciscan push north into Alta California to build outposts that altered the Pacific coast.
The Girl Scouts' Captain
Edith Lavell
This story follows a determined college student as she balances the pressures of campus social life with the difficult task of mentoring a group of underprivileged girls. It is a classic tale of youthful idealism navigating the realities of class, character, and community.
The Golden-Breasted Kootoo, and Other Stories
Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards
These whimsical fairy tales follow characters whose absurd obsessions and misplaced ambitions lead them into delightful, often calamitous, encounters with the unknown.
The Habitant and Other French-Canadian Poems
William Henry Drummond
A collection of narrative verse captures nineteenth-century French-Canadian rural life through the voices, dialect, and humor of its own people.
The Hard-Scrabble of Elm Island
Elijah Kellogg
A group of resourceful young men in post-Revolutionary Maine transform their humble surroundings into a seafaring legacy through grueling labor, collective enterprise, and an unwavering commitment to self-reliance.
The house we live in
Vesta J. Farnsworth
A gentle guide to human physiology, this book teaches children to view their own bodies as sacred, complex dwellings that require careful maintenance, cleanliness, and the avoidance of harmful substances.
The Khaki Boys at Camp Sterling
Josephine Chase
The young men of this story trade the familiar comforts of home for the rigorous, dusty, and often perilous training grounds of the American military during the First World War. Through their eyes, the path toward becoming a soldier is revealed as a test of character, loyalty, and vigilance.
The leading lady
Geraldine Bonner
A young actress seeks refuge on a secluded Maine island to escape a notorious scandal, only to find that the past—and a new threat—have followed her into the dark.
The Lords of the Wild: A Story of the Old New York Border
Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander) Altsheler
A young provincial lad and his Onondaga companion face fire, fog, and forest ambushes along the 18th-century New York border.
The Manor House of Lacolle: A description and historical sketch of the Manoir of the Seigniory
W. D. (William Douw) Lighthall
This historical sketch examines the architectural and social legacy of a frontier manor, tracing the intersection of American inheritance law, Canadian land development, and the vestiges of the feudal seigniorial system.
The Moving Picture Girls at Oak Farm
Laura Lee Hope
A city film crew invades a quiet New Jersey homestead, turning rural routines into slapstick cinema while chasing the hidden fortune that can save the farm.
The Old Debauchees. A Comedy
Henry Fielding
A sharp-witted young woman outmaneuvers a predatory cleric who attempts to manipulate her father’s religious guilt for his own carnal gain.
The Old House: A Novel
Cécile Tormay
The old house stands as a silent, living character, holding the secrets and fading fortunes of a family caught in the tides of history. It is a haunting portrait of legacy, where the weight of the past dictates the fragile, unspoken lives of those who dwell within.
The Repair of Casa Grande Ruin, Arizona, in 1891: Fifteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1893-94, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1897, pages 315-348
Cosmos Mindeleff
A federal engineer documents the urgent, 1891 effort to stabilize a crumbling prehistoric desert landmark, providing a rare technical window into the early days of American historic preservation.
The Sorrows of a Show Girl: A Story of the Great "White Way"
Kenneth McGaffey
A breezy, slang-drenched Monologue of New York’s theater district, this episodic novella follows a street-wise chorus girl navigating stage doors, champagne suppers, and erratic suitors. Through her breathless chatter, the book offers a comedic, unvarnished portrait of turn-of-the-century Broadway life.
The southern literary messenger, Vol. II., No. 9, August, 1836
Various
This collection captures the intellectual pulse of the 1830s, gathering essays, poetry, and political discourse into a single, vibrant portrait of an era’s preoccupation with history, governance, and the soul.
The Stokesley Secret
Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary) Yonge
When their parents depart for a medical emergency, a houseful of spirited children must navigate the complexities of character, duty, and truth under the steady guidance of their young governess.
The Story of a Play: A Novel
William Dean Howells
The creative friction between an idealistic playwright and a vain, mercurial star reveals how artistic integrity often survives only through the compromises of the theater.
The Story of Grenfell of the Labrador: A Boy's Life of Wilfred T. Grenfell
Dillon Wallace
An athletic young English doctor trades a comfortable London medical practice for the icy, stormy waters of Newfoundland and Labrador, dedicating his life to serving forgotten deep-sea fishermen.
The Study of Astronomy, adapted to the capacities of youth: In twelve familiar dialogues, between a tutor and his pupil: explaining the general phænomena of the heavenly bodies, the theory of the tides, &c
Stedman, John, teacher of astronomy
This educational dialogue serves as an accessible introduction to the mechanics of the heavens, stripping away complex jargon to reveal the elegant, ordered clockwork of the solar system.
The Sunlit Hours
Emile Verhaeren
HOOK This sequence of poems celebrates the profound stillness and radiant intensity of a love that transforms the world into a sanctuary of light.
The theory of relativity and its influence on scientific thought
Eddington, Arthur Stanley, Sir
This inquiry into the architecture of reality dismantles our intuitive reliance on fixed frames of reference, inviting a profound shift from a geocentric view to a unified, four-dimensional understanding of the cosmos.
The Trail of The Badger: A Story of the Colorado Border Thirty Years Ago
Sidford F. (Sidford Frederick) Hamp
Two adventurous youths set out to find a lost Spanish mine, only to discover a greater treasure in the arid wilderness: the power to transform a desert into fertile farmland.
The Twilight of the Souls
Louis Couperus
The twilight of a life is rarely a sudden sunset, but rather a long, slow accumulation of shadows. This novel traces that inevitable fading across the lives of a prominent, disintegrating family, capturing the quiet terror of watching one’s own vitality slip away.
The Yale Cup
Albertus T. (Albertus True) Dudley
The life of a boarding school student is rarely simple, but the true test of character arrives when the pressure of athletic competition collides with the strict, often arbitrary, moral codes of the classroom.
"'Tis Sixty Years Since": Address of Charles Francis Adams
Charles Francis Adams
Reflecting on a lifetime of public service, a seasoned observer examines the profound shifts in American society, politics, and technology that occurred between the mid-nineteenth century and the early twentieth century.
Told in the East
Talbot Mundy
The burning sun of India provides the backdrop for this tale of imperial duty, where individual soldiers—often lonely and far from home—find themselves pitted against the chaotic tide of uprising and rebellion.
Toppleton's Client
John Kendrick Bangs
A wealthy, aimless young lawyer discovers his new office is occupied by a displaced spirit, leading to a comedic, high-stakes negotiation involving stolen bodies, social climbing, and the burden of aristocratic secrets.
Trolley Folly
Henry Wallace Phillips
This collection of American short fiction captures the rough-and-tumble spirit of the frontier through a series of tall tales, humorous misadventures, and sardonic observations on life in the early 1900s.
Twelve months in Madagascar
Joseph Mullens
A firsthand account of a pivotal year in the nineteenth-century evolution of Madagascar, this chronicle documents the intersection of faith, colonial influence, and the rapid modernization of a nation at a crossroads.
Twenty-six and One, and Other Stories
Maksim Gorky
The wanderer’s heart, hardened by the harsh realities of the Russian steppes and the waterfront, finds no solace in the structures of society. These tales map the desperate, beautiful struggle for dignity among the dispossessed.
Twice-born Men in America
Harriet Earhart Monroe
A dedicated missionary chronicles her life’s work in the early twentieth century, offering a firsthand account of the methods, challenges, and spiritual transformations she witnessed within the walls of a Washington, D.C. rescue mission.
Tyrants of Time
Stephen Marlowe
The fabric of history is brittle, and a secret cabal of future agents intends to shatter it to install a permanent global dictatorship. Only a rogue time-traveler can stop them, but the cost of saving the future is an endless journey through the past.
Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading: Selected from English and American Literature
Unknown
A thoughtful introduction to classic verse and wisdom opens a doorway through which small readers cross from basic literacy into the wider, richer territory of genuine literature.
Wanted—Leaders!
Theodore DeBose Bratton
A call for purposeful leadership defines the trajectory of African American development, surveying the history of a people from their ancestral origins through the trials of American slavery, emancipation, and the post-Reconstruction era.
West Point Colors
Anna Bartlett Warner
HOOK A young man enters the rigid, often unforgiving world of the United States Military Academy, discovering that true strength requires obedience to orders and a steadfast commitment to his own integrity.
What Every Mother Should Know
Margaret Sanger
A mother’s guide to teaching children the biological origins of life, this narrative frames reproduction as a beautiful, natural process to be shared with curiosity rather than shame.
When Sarah Saved the Day
Elsie Singmaster
Sarah Wenner is a fifteen-year-old girl shouldering the responsibility of a household after the deaths of her parents. When her unscrupulous uncle moves to seize the family farm and separate her from her siblings, Sarah fights to keep their home intact.
White Tail the Deer's Adventures
George Ethelbert Walsh
The survival of a young buck depends not just on his speed, but on his ability to lead with wisdom and courage. In the wild, the path to maturity is paved with tests of strength and narrow escapes.
Wild Wings: A Romance of Youth
Margaret Piper Chalmers
The transition from late adolescence to early adulthood is rarely a straight line, marked instead by impulsive choices, hidden identities, and the bittersweet realization that the people we love are not who we imagined.
Winning His "Y": A Story of School Athletics
Ralph Henry Barbour
Winning his place among his peers requires far more than athletic talent; it demands the character to navigate shifting school loyalties and the integrity to choose honor over personal grievance. This narrative captures the quintessential spirit of the early twentieth-century boarding school experience.
With the Scottish Regiments at the Front
Evelyn Charles Vivian
This collection of wartime accounts serves as an immediate, visceral chronicle of the Scottish infantry during the opening months of the First World War. It captures the transition from professional military tradition to the brutal, industrialized reality of the Western Front.
Zina: the Slave Girl
A. (Augustin) Thompson
This drama unfolds in the volatile landscape of the American Civil War, where the paths of soldiers, slave traders, and captives collide in a desperate struggle for liberation and vengeance. It captures the raw, often jarring shift between the grim realities of the battlefield and the personal, high-stakes…
Ziska: The Problem of a Wicked Soul
Marie Corelli
Beneath the shadow of the Sphinx, a restless spirit seeks vengeance across the threshold of time. A modern painter finds himself caught in a lethal cycle of obsession, bound to a woman whose beauty hides a dark, ancient secret.
Zoological Illustrations, Second Series, Volume 3
William Swainson
A meticulous catalog of natural beauty, this volume bridges the gap between scientific taxonomy and artistic observation, capturing the vibrant diversity of the avian, insect, and mollusk worlds through precise description and vivid illustration.
A Book of Birds
Carton Moore-Park
This collection of avian sketches observes the habits, temperaments, and unique physical traits of birds from across the globe. Each portrait offers an intimate, often humorous, glimpse into the life of a creature living in the wild or the farmyard.
A Classified Catalogue of Works in General Literature Published by Longmans, Green, & Co
Longmans, Green, and Co.
This inventory captures the vast intellectual landscape of a Victorian publishing house, offering a structured window into the era's obsession with classification, knowledge, and the global reach of the British book trade.
A Middy of the Slave Squadron: A West African Story
Harry Collingwood
A young naval officer navigates the treacherous waters of the West African coast, battling both ruthless slavers and the brutal realities of a hazardous, unforgiving environment.